hand to slide his arm around my waist as he tormented me with his touch, pulling me closer to deepen the kiss. His tongue flicked along the seam of my lips and I parted them, granting him access as the music slowed and swelled. Heat rolled through my body as I let him lead in this dance, mimicking the nips he gave to my lip before he lured my tongue into his mouth to explore.
Just as well we were sitting, my knees turned to liquid and only his arm around me kept my torso upright. If he let go now, I would flop to the ground like a boneless ragdoll. My body screamed for more as I pressed myself to him. His heat radiated through the thin fabric of my dress.
An eternity later, he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. We both breathed hard. "I had hoped you would be here," he said.
"And now you have found me," I replied.
A loud call of "Your grace! Your grace!" floated above the saxophone and drifted through the dense yew. Seth groaned and tucked me against his side.
"You have been missed. Best the mouse returns, now that he has recovered his breath." I certainly needed to recover mine. My chest heaved as though I had ran all the way home, and I suspected my legs had turned to jelly.
Voices moved closer and continued to call his name. "Will you be at the fete?" he asked.
"I imagine so. You had best return to the party, or they will think you have been dragged into the undergrowth by a vermin." I gave him a push, admittedly a half-hearted one, as I didn't want to lose his touch.
He gave me a quick, swift kiss on the lips and rose to his feet. "Good, I will find you Sunday. You should know, I am going to hold a ball, you will have to come and dance with me. Promise, Ella. Promise you will dance with me."
Absurd. Preposterous. But the moment was magical and anything could happen. "All right. Now go, before they find us here — alone."
Another kiss and he was gone, back amongst the greenery.
Chapter Eleven
I sat in the darkened maze for several minutes and wrapped the night around me. I wanted to inscribe every second of what had just happened into my memory. The way his hand inched up my back and traced over each vertebrae and sent a shiver racing over my limbs. The heady scent of the jasmine as lassitude seeped through my body. The taste of his lips and tongue as he urged me to play a new game. Every teeny tiny detail had to be etched into recollection before I could rise from the seat, so that I might carry it with me always.
Besides, I needed time for my bones to knit back together and support my weight.
By the time I returned to the cars, Stewart was looking for me.
"We've been summoned," he said and we walked back to our gleaming motorcar.
Frank waved us off, and I swear he knew something had happened with the way he winked conspiratorially at me.
The excited chatter on the way home hurt my ears. I tried to block them out, letting my gaze drift over the passing countryside. Thankfully it was a short ride back to our house. Even so, by the time I climbed from the car, my ears ached as though I stood too close to a screaming siren.
Elizabeth clapped her hands and congratulated her daughters on a night well done. Apparently the wedding invitations were practically ready to be sent out. She commandeered Alice to help her undress, leaving me to wrangle Charlotte and Louise. Although it struck me as quite ridiculous; we were in the twentieth century, grown women should be able to undress and climb into bed on their own. Biting my tongue on my revolutionary thoughts of overthrowing the bourgeoisie, I caught discarded items of clothing as the sisters talked non-stop. Or more correctly, Louise talked non-stop, while Charlotte kept her own counsel.
From the few moments I glimpsed, I think Charlotte had caught a suitor or two and was keeping that knowledge close to her chest. Or was she thinking about Hubert, her pen-pal? It didn't matter that Louise was fixated on Seth, Louise didn't want
Just as well we were sitting, my knees turned to liquid and only his arm around me kept my torso upright. If he let go now, I would flop to the ground like a boneless ragdoll. My body screamed for more as I pressed myself to him. His heat radiated through the thin fabric of my dress.
An eternity later, he pulled back and rested his forehead against mine. We both breathed hard. "I had hoped you would be here," he said.
"And now you have found me," I replied.
A loud call of "Your grace! Your grace!" floated above the saxophone and drifted through the dense yew. Seth groaned and tucked me against his side.
"You have been missed. Best the mouse returns, now that he has recovered his breath." I certainly needed to recover mine. My chest heaved as though I had ran all the way home, and I suspected my legs had turned to jelly.
Voices moved closer and continued to call his name. "Will you be at the fete?" he asked.
"I imagine so. You had best return to the party, or they will think you have been dragged into the undergrowth by a vermin." I gave him a push, admittedly a half-hearted one, as I didn't want to lose his touch.
He gave me a quick, swift kiss on the lips and rose to his feet. "Good, I will find you Sunday. You should know, I am going to hold a ball, you will have to come and dance with me. Promise, Ella. Promise you will dance with me."
Absurd. Preposterous. But the moment was magical and anything could happen. "All right. Now go, before they find us here — alone."
Another kiss and he was gone, back amongst the greenery.
Chapter Eleven
I sat in the darkened maze for several minutes and wrapped the night around me. I wanted to inscribe every second of what had just happened into my memory. The way his hand inched up my back and traced over each vertebrae and sent a shiver racing over my limbs. The heady scent of the jasmine as lassitude seeped through my body. The taste of his lips and tongue as he urged me to play a new game. Every teeny tiny detail had to be etched into recollection before I could rise from the seat, so that I might carry it with me always.
Besides, I needed time for my bones to knit back together and support my weight.
By the time I returned to the cars, Stewart was looking for me.
"We've been summoned," he said and we walked back to our gleaming motorcar.
Frank waved us off, and I swear he knew something had happened with the way he winked conspiratorially at me.
The excited chatter on the way home hurt my ears. I tried to block them out, letting my gaze drift over the passing countryside. Thankfully it was a short ride back to our house. Even so, by the time I climbed from the car, my ears ached as though I stood too close to a screaming siren.
Elizabeth clapped her hands and congratulated her daughters on a night well done. Apparently the wedding invitations were practically ready to be sent out. She commandeered Alice to help her undress, leaving me to wrangle Charlotte and Louise. Although it struck me as quite ridiculous; we were in the twentieth century, grown women should be able to undress and climb into bed on their own. Biting my tongue on my revolutionary thoughts of overthrowing the bourgeoisie, I caught discarded items of clothing as the sisters talked non-stop. Or more correctly, Louise talked non-stop, while Charlotte kept her own counsel.
From the few moments I glimpsed, I think Charlotte had caught a suitor or two and was keeping that knowledge close to her chest. Or was she thinking about Hubert, her pen-pal? It didn't matter that Louise was fixated on Seth, Louise didn't want
Similar Books
